With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Darko · Jan 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
hand, the First pretty afraid

"the First's"

Mr Zoat said:
Oh yeah. John said-" He fires again, this time hitting-. The First managed to grab a handful of kaahuite and used that to block the shot. No golden flare. "-he killed him with holy water one time, so I thought it would work."

Weird that something like that hurt him when he's not a demon.

Maybe it was because he willingly took it in and that allowed it to hurt him.

Mr Zoat said:
"Do you actually have a plan?"

"Hit him until he dies

Nice and simple.

Ngamer11 · Jan 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
The Simpson-robot darts out of the cover it dived into when the First made his throw -good reactions- and scurries over to where the robot with the gun full. He picks up the gun and ducks into cover as the First hurls a handful of kaahuite chips his way. They smash into the walls and pillars like railgun flechettes, tearing gouges in the brick!

That should say 'fell'.

Mr Zoat said:
He ducks out of cover and fires back, hitting the first in the left eye. There's the expected gout of gold fire, but the first doesn't seem all that bothered by it.

Those should be capitalized.

Lazurman · Jan 19, 2024

So, it's a rebellion in Hell, is it? Nice.

RoninSword · Jan 19, 2024

NightmareWarden said:
I'm so, so happy to be back once again! This was one of the few QQ stories I could read, but now I can actually comment or Like posts again! Don't change your QQ email, folks, let the admins work on their fix first.

Well folks, place your bets. Is Zauriel going to appear in the Grayven timeline? He wouldn't be the first angel to make his way down to this corner of hell. This area would weaken him, but I can imagine a scene where he really interferes with this fight.

Also? This is not the first time we have seen anti-life crystals! The Tower of Fate invasion included many crystals... Well, these crystals in hell may contain a different portion of the equation? Eh... Crystals gathered by Constantine could definitely come from Hell.

These are Kaahuite, a substance considered 'outside Creation', not anti-life crystals.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Day 22
28th March 2013
09:48 GMT

AAAHHfuckingfuckfuck!

Blood spurts from my stump, splattering three times across the First's face as my heart pumps it out before my armour clamps down.

Good to see he at least had plans in place for severed limbs. Though that entire forearm and glove are probably write-offs. Still, that's quite a bit of damage taken in the first exchange of blows. He's going to have to do something clever to survive this.

Agony matrix!

"What's that supposed to-?"

Ah, overconfidence, and a lack of experience with Spectrum constructs. Not a good combination, unless it's embodied in your enemies.

Dual Moral Standard

"FFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"

Oh look! He can feel pain in this body. Lots of it, in fact.

Okay. Okay. Looks like I can work through this… Ungodly aura thing if I use my New God powers. But is that infecting me faster, or-?

The First falls to the ground, frantically scrabbling to get away from me.

You'd better be afraid, old Scratch.

Not feeling too great myself.

"Nice one, Gray." Another robot drops down from the ceiling, Simpson's white-pink aura shining out of its eyes. "How long's he down f-?"

Shut up and keep shooting him. All the robots, now, please?

Shield.

A lump of kaahuite-laden stone hits my shield and cracks it, sending me flying backwards until I slam into a pillar! The First.. threw it from a prone position discus-style, and he was still able to get enough force into it to-. He's actually shivering with fear, but that doesn't mean that he's physically weak.

And he's likely to be desperate now, just like a cornered rat.

"He isn't. Agony matrixes hurt, they don't cause damage."

"Gotcha!"

Problem is, he can pull apart anything that gets close. This will come down to ranged combat and evasion.

The Simpson-robot darts out of the cover it dived into when the First made his throw -good reactions- and scurries over to where the robot with the gun fell. He picks up the gun and ducks into cover as the First hurls a handful of kaahuite chips his way. They smash into the walls and pillars like railgun flechettes, tearing gouges in the brick!

"Fuck me!"

...Not in that body, mate. And this is hardly the time.

He ducks out of cover and fires back, hitting the First in the left eye. There's the expected gout of gold fire, but the First doesn't seem all that bothered by it.

"We're in Masak Mavdil! You're using a weapon that conjures holy fire in a place definitionally removed from God's-!"

Like the ultimate area debuff. -99% all non-evil damage. Thanks goodness for minimum chip damage.

The First throws again, but I spotted it in time to try evading. The rock hits my shield off-centre, breaking the shield and causing a-.

I throw up in my mouth -ugh- and then frantically spit it out.

Renegade's not that used to feeling pain either, is he? And unlike other alt!Pauls, he's not that good at blocking it either...

Causing my stump to flare in pain!

"Oh yeah. John said-" He fires again, this time hitting-. The First managed to grab a handful of kaahuite and used that to block the shot. No golden flare. "-he killed him with holy water one time, so I thought it would work."

Here? You'd need an entire lake of it!

"Please tell me that's not all you've got."

"I thought you had-" He fires again, hitting the First right up his nostril. That makes him splutter, but again, no real injury. "-Elle's Wonder Sword."

Something that's barely a butter-knife in his hands. And again, melee combat with the First? good way to lose something vital.

"It's a short sword and I doubt that he'll lie there while I stab him. If it even works down here."

On the other hand, the First's pretty afraid right now. I use that to fabricate a physical agony matrix which won't do a thing in the hands of anyone who isn't a New God, but I doubt that Father told him that.

What if it's super-effective down here, though? Not just killing him and reincarnating him, but killing him for real. No more soul!

Something crashes into the lift, and Stercorax… Steps out of the wreckage, followed by a squad of Satanus's cyborgs who repel down from above. Stercorax… The place where I cut has been patched over by the same metal as the cyborgs' mechanical parts, and he-.

"YOU!"

Huh, remotely piloted lobotomised invulnerable demon-lord? Clever, Simpson.

The First come up to a crouch, ignoring the putrid green bolts of plasma the cyborgs are shooting him with. Looks like his anger has overcome his fear.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE INVULNERABLE TO ME!?"

It'll be interesting to see. preferably from a safe distance. Like Purgatory.

Stercorax dashes-. "Stercorax!"

He glances towards me and I throw him the agony matrix. He catches it and accelerates, the First's thrown stones hitting his chest and head and failing to even knock him back.

Ah, nice, the perfect way to keep him pinned down, at least.

"Hit him with it!"

"No no!"

Heh. Today's probably the first time he's felt fear that strongly in quite a while, I bet.

The First gets to his feet and runs, while I-.

Ugh.

I collapse to my knees.

Might need to patch yourself up a bit there, Renegade.

"Don't worry! I can make you a new hand."

"Just get my-." I spot my severed hand about half a second before Stercorax stamps on it. I liked that hand. "It'll grow back in a couple of weeks."

And until then, we get to see him waving around a babby hand.

New hand.

Certainly, Lantern.

...Or he can just cover it with a construct for now.

"Do you actually have a plan?"

"Hit him until he dies."

Good luck with that. It'll be like fighting a Terraria Moon Lord with starting Tin gear. Slow, difficult and almost certainly likely to end with a lot of pain on both sides.

Simpson, Satanus, Rosacarnis-. "Is Neron here too?"

"Him and his people are handling the guards. You know, if you give me the Sword-."

So, it's a general rebellion, eh? Wonder who else is caught up in this?

"Fuck off." Ugh. "Do you have a good way to get rid of kaahuite?"

"Tweezers? It's not really a problem for demons." Marvellous. "How about we hold his attention while you stab-?"

...Good luck with that, mate.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW..!"

"Him?"

Bass deep enough to make your bones vibrate... That's never a good sign.

The floor in front of us ceases to exist, and Simpson and I scramble backwards as… A thing rises up from below.

"Yeah, that's… That's an abomination. If you were wondering."

Eldritch or merely primordial, I wonder?

Three heads twitching and spasming in agony, two sets of wings which I suspect were once pearly white flapping spasmodically, six arms reaching desperately for something, nails replaced with kaahuite talons, torsos merged and legs… stitched into one tail-like limb.

"No. That's a fist-wound in the chest, and it's down one set of wings. Gabriel. And I guess that the other two are Remiel and Duma."

Sounds like the First fancies himself an artiste. Also, unholy metaphysical implications, tin man!

"Yeah. Pretty good work, reall-."

The monster swoops towards us, talons raised!

Admire the workmanship later... When it's dead, or as close as it can get.

And now it's a party! The First, cowering in terror at the looming Stercorax-drone. The Renegade and Simpson, ideally falling back from the new guy. And now this Angelic monstrosity, which sounds like someone tried to turn the humanoid angels into one of those pieces of 'eldritch Biblically-accurate Angel' artwork.

What else is going to show up? An Elder God, maybe?

Lord Ernest · Jan 19, 2024

So a Hell Coup organized by Satanus? Was he anticipating the First's attempt or monitoring Grayven in some way? I'm not entirely sure how they knew to come now or why they thought now would be the best time to take a swing at the First. Couldn't Satanus have sounded Grayven to see if he would be open to assist? Because I imagine they're attempting this due to Grayven having the Sword and it being the best chance at taking the First down.

Darko · Jan 19, 2024

RoninSword said:
These are Kaahuite, a substance considered 'outside Creation', not anti-life crystals.

I mean they may be very similar.

Before the Anti-Life hit Paragon Earth, Mazekeen told Paul that Anti-Life felt like it was something outside of creation, so they may come from the same place.

Lord Ernest said:
Was he anticipating the First's attempt or monitoring Grayven in some way

Probably a bit of both.

Lord Ernest said:
Couldn't Satanus have sounded Grayven to see if he would be open to assist?

He may not have wanted to risk it since he didn't know renegade all that well and the deal he made with the First could have made him magically obligated to reveal amy information.

Rebu · Jan 19, 2024

Lazurman said:
So, it's a rebellion in Hell, is it? Nice.

A Reb-hell-ion, if you will.

jasonh23761 · Jan 19, 2024

Huh, all Hell's broken loose.

Neat.

Mr Zoat · Jan 19, 2024

Darko said:
"the First's"

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'fell'.
Those should be capitalized.

Thank you, corrected.

NightmareWarden · Jan 19, 2024

RoninSword said:
These are Kaahuite, a substance considered 'outside Creation', not anti-life crystals.

Isn't this patch of kaahuite special, hence the First's gloating? Like, there are tons of different magical elements that could make up a normal crystal, and this patch of kaahuite happens to have anti-angel AND anti-New God properties? Akin to how a magical reagent could be aligned to earth, water, fire, or air, this patch of crystals has both?

I thought this was like the anti-matter 'verse situation, where anti-matter can also make up hydrogen, helium, carbon, etc., and here we were seeing a specific patch with two qualities.

Lord Ernest · Jan 19, 2024

NightmareWarden said:
Isn't this patch of kaahuite special, hence the First's gloating? Like, there are tons of different magical elements that could make up a normal crystal, and this patch of kaahuite happens to have anti-angel AND anti-New God properties? Akin to how a magical reagent could be aligned to earth, water, fire, or air, this patch of crystals has both?

I thought this was like the anti-matter 'verse situation, where anti-matter can also make up hydrogen, helium, carbon, etc., and here we were seeing a specific patch with two qualities.

From what I recall, all Kaahuite is essentially "anti-Creation" since it spawned from the place where God told the First to "get out of my sight", so why would there be a special Kaahuite? I would think that it's noxious to most beings but that it especially affects Angels precisely because they're so connected to God. Meanwhile New Gods are also directly connected to The Source, so they're as Creation/Reality as is possible to be.

Where they're at right now, however, is as close as it's possible to be to that place where the First fell, the anti-Creation, and with who knows how much Kaahuite all around; I believe that's what's messing up with Grayven, being in a location almost outside of The Source's reach and with that type of material surrounding him, his Soul is essentially getting bad signal and practically disconnecting.

Bud-E · Jan 19, 2024

Does the First only have super-strength he doesn't have any special abilities or magic he can use?

Mr Zoat · Jan 19, 2024

Bud-E said:
Does the First only have super-strength he doesn't have any special abilities or magic he can use?

The First is a highly capable magic user, and if he was thinking clearly/not showboating this would be going rather differently.

moralrelativity · Jan 19, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
managed to grab a handful of kaahuite and used that to block

This felt a bit odd to me being past tense when the rest of the action was present tense.

Mr Zoat · Jan 19, 2024

moralrelativity said:
This felt a bit odd to me being past tense when the rest of the action was present tense.

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Jan 20, 2024

Day 22
28th March 2013
09:51 GMT

Shield and sidestep with the aero-discs and slash with the Sword!

Simpson dives the other way, and the angel-abomination doesn't pick a direction, flying between us and flailing around with its claws. Two sets of talons tear through my construct barrier, and-. And are stopped by my armour, which is a pleasant change of pace. I nearly catch part of one of its wings with the Sword but one of its heads is focusing on me and the wing is jerked aside just in time.

The cyborg squad scatters, trying to keep away while not drawing its attention which strikes me as an eminently sensible decision. Simpson has a gash in his torso but appears otherwise undamaged as he puts a shot into its back from a prone position. The shot hits its… Torso-mass with the normal plume of golden fire, but the fire is immediately… Snuffed out? It looks like it's… Drawn inward, somehow. Into the kaahuite?

Is there an intelligent way to get out of this, or are we stuck brawling it out?

Unusually for John, after his fight with the First was over he hunted down the splattered remains of Gabriel's heart and put them… Alright not 'somewhere safe', but in a Tupperware tub in a shed he rented. The wings were in the same place. Since that was obviously terrible security Circe had his entire collection transferred to a secure vault protected by her somewhat more extensive range of defensive spells.

Sort of wish I'd brought them.

"YYYEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH..!"

The air around its hands and wings and faces trembles as it squirms towards me, lashing out with all of its limbs. I back up, careful-.

Something drips from my nose-. My vision is blurring again, and my stump is seeping blood into my construct hand. It can just inflict harm, bypassing my resistances. And I'm not regenerating. I-.

One of its arms comes close to reaching me, and I ward it off with a slash of the Sword. Think!

Demons come from a combination of the universe and.. this place. Kaahuite doesn't bother them. This is three angels combined with the stuff. It's clearly suffering, but equally it has integrated the kaahuite to some degree. New God theology is a bit unclear as to whether the Source is omnipotent or not, though that belief is fairly common throughout the universe. So if this place is beyond God's sight, is that definitionally beyond, or is God just not looking? I mean, it's not just some sort of void, it's clearly actively interacting with things. And if it's a matter of choice or -in an equally valid interpretation of New God scripture- an automatic process, how would I make that connection?

Infect a New God with it and then kill them thank you brain.

The abomination bunches up its tail and opens its mouths-.

Simpson shoots it directly on one of its chest-seams and the fire is sucked away faster. It doesn't seem hurt but it hesitates for a moment, and I use that to fly further away.

"Hey!"

"How does that gun work?"

"That's an interesting-."

A wing-flap hits him and sends him flying across the room, minus his legs and trailing pink sparks.

"Fuck! Magic metal linked to-

He lands, bouncing once and sliding to a halt next to a cyborg fire team.

"-the target by the bullet!"

Three faces focus on me, tail undulating and claws scrabbling at the floor as it accelerates towards me.

"Toss it to me!"

"Fuck off!"

I fire a construct missile at the angel, but it just slaps it aside with a wing. I fire a second-.

It's visibly weaker.

"The First's coming back!"

"Swap, then!"

"YYYEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH..!"

I wipe the blood from my eyes and take a purple healing ray out of sub… Space-. It doesn't come and I can't create one down here.

Fine.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

Urgh, yeah, there it is. Using my god-powers acts as a palliative while accelerating the progress.

I'll live.

Dart forward, target a wing that's slowed slightly as the angbomination swipes a trough in the floor and stab. Result? I severed the tip and-

"YYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE..!"

My constructs blink out and my armour's tron lines dim and die. Marvellous. Mother Box, can you still Awaken people?

Ping.

Good.

"Any of you cyborgs want to go to God?" That gets me a few strange looks. "No, seriously, reunification with the-"

The angels press forward, making probing slashes with wings and claws as I'm forced to give ground. Why couldn't Chantinelle have made a spear or something?

"-Creator. Just takes a brief ritual."

Doesn't look like anyone's going for it, which is fair enough. Who was that guy in Pilgrim's Progress? False Hope?

"Oh good. Now he does something useful."

Ah, darn. Simpson is there, move a little and the calculate and throw!

The Sword flies through the air and punches through the angel-thing's torso section and out of the other side! Black… Sand? Pours out, though the creature itself doesn't seem-. No, one of the heads is having some sort of fit, but the other two have noticed that I've lost my weapon. In theory I could try to get it to run over the First but I don't fancy getting into melee range and I doubt that he'd have made all that noise if he was actually worried about them.

"Huh?"

"Yes I actually did it!" Back up back up lift dodge! "Now give me the gun!"

"Ah. Okay?"

The gun flies into the air and it's not going anywhere near me fly! Yes, yes-!

Something tears into my right foot.

No! AAow! Tether, grab it turn and stab it into the monstrosity's conjoined neck! A flare of gold fire, it.. gets sucked away…

But it doesn't vanish. The angel thing is in constant contact with it.

And its eyes are starting to clear.

Darko · Jan 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Unusually for John, after his fight with the First was over he hunted down the splattered remains of Gabriel's heart and put them… Alright not 'somewhere safe', but in a Tupperware tub in a shed he rented. The wings were in the same place. Since that was obviously terrible security Circe had his entire collection transferred to a secure vault protected by her somewhat more extensive range of defensive spells

I mean most would think that he'd make a smart choice as to where to put so they wouldn't consider the really dumb choice he made and this the heart would be protected.

Mr Zoat said:
And I'm not regenerating. I-.

Either the place is slowing your progress or losing to the First is metaphysicaly bad.

Mr Zoat said:
Kaahuite doesn't both them. This is three angels combined with the stuff. It's clearly

"bother them"

Mr Zoat said:
Why couldn't Chantinelle have made a spear or something?

Because swords are generally considered cooler.

Plus the Sword is really small and easier to hide if you want to ambush someone.

Mr Zoat said:
Doesn't look like anyone's going for it,

Yeah, most of the residents probably have bad experiences with weird looking things offering them power.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Day 22
28th March 2013
09:51 GMT

Shield and sidestep with the aero-discs and slash with the Sword!

Simpson dives the other way, and the angel-abomination doesn't pick a direction, flying between us and flailing around with its claws. Two sets of talons tear through my construct barrier, and-. And are stopped by my armour, which is a pleasant change of pace. I nearly catch part of one of its wings with the Sword but one of its heads is focusing on me and the wing is jerked aside just in time.

Heh. For once, his armour isn't useless. Certainly rare. Presumably, the kaahuite is disrupting the metaphysical structure of the Spectrum constructs, but against mundane metals and leather, it's about as effective as the glass it resembles.

The cyborg squad scatters, trying to keep away while not drawing its attention which strikes me as an eminently sensible decision. Simpson has a gash in his torso but appears otherwise undamaged as he puts a shot into its back from a prone position. The shot hits its… Torso-mass with the normal plume of golden fire, but the fire is immediately… Snuffed out? It looks like it's… Drawn inward, somehow. Into the kaahuite?

Is there an intelligent way to get out of this, or are we stuck brawling it out?

Great, it's protected somewhat by the very thing that's torturing it.

Unusually for John, after his fight with the First was over he hunted down the splattered remains of Gabriel's heart and put them… Alright not 'somewhere safe', but in a Tupperware tub in a shed he rented. The wings were in the same place. Since that was obviously terrible security Circe had his entire collection transferred to a secure vault protected by her somewhat more extensive range of defensive spells.

Sort of wish I'd brought them.

The artifacts or the experts? Because bringing John fuck-mothering Constantine into Hell seems like a bad idea...

"YYYEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH..!"

The air around its hands and wings and faces trembles as it squirms towards me, lashing out with all of its limbs. I back up, careful-.

...Though his brand of craftiness would come in real handy right now.

Something drips from my nose-. My vision is blurring again, and my stump is seeping blood into my construct hand. It can just inflict harm, bypassing my resistances. And I'm not regenerating. I-.

One of its arms comes close to reaching me, and I ward it off with a slash of the Sword. Think!

Yep, definitely ignoring supernatural protections, then, even those tied to an equivalent to the power that created them.

Demons come from a combination of the universe and.. this place. Kaahuite doesn't bother them. This is three angels combined with the stuff. It's clearly suffering, but equally it has integrated the kaahuite to some degree. New God theology is a bit unclear as to whether the Source is omnipotent or not, though that belief is fairly common throughout the universe. So if this place is beyond God's sight, is that definitionally beyond, or is God not just looking? I mean, it's not just some sort of void, it's clearly actively interacting with things. And if it's a matter of choice or -in an equally valid interpretation of New God scripture- an automatic process, how would I make that connection?

To be fair, it's been mentioned several times that it's outside the Presence's Creation, but that doesn't necessarily mean it lies outside the Source's providence. Depends on how closely the two powers are related, of course.

Infect a New God with it and then kill them thank you brain.

The abomination bunches up its tail and opens its mouths-.

So, that could be part of the First's plan. A minor part, if he even thought of it.

Simpson shoots it directly on one of its chest-seems and the fire is sucked away faster. It doesn't seem hurt but it hesitates for a moment, and I use that to fly further away.

"Hey!"

Because even an angelic monstrosity has a flinch reflex when struck.

"How does that gun work?"

"That's an interesting-."

Sum up, mate. Short version, single- or two-syllable words, if you can. Not the time for a lecture, after all.

A wing-flap hits him and sends him flying across the room, minus his legs and trailing pink sparks.

"Fuck! Magic metal linked to-

The risk of having to animate his constructs so directly: Being right there taking hits.

He lands, bouncing once and sliding to a halt next to a cyborg fire team.

"-the target by the bullet!"

So, not the Ace of Winchesters, but similar principles. Probably engineered based on stories of it.

Three faces focus on me, tail undulating and craws scrabbling at the floor as it accelerates towards me.

"Toss it to me!"

"Fuck off!"

Hey, you wouldn't give up your trump card weapon, Renegade, why should he?

I fire a construct missile at the angel, but it just slaps it aside with a wing. I fire a second-.

It's visibly weaker.

So, it's not built for endurance. Really, I doubt it was built for anything but suffering.

"The First's coming back!"

"Swap, then!"

Guess Stercorax wasn't as invulnerable as they thought.

"YYYEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH..!"

I wipe the blood from my eyes and take a purple healing ray out of sub… Space-. It doesn't come and I can't create one down here.

Well, that's a pain. Blocked by the environment, presumably, since he's probably got a decent charge reserve.

Fine.

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

Urgh, yeah, there it is. Using my god-powers acts as a palliative while accelerating the progress.

Best not do that too much. Either you'll start soaking up the local, demonically tainted mana, or you run your own New God batteries a little dry...

Assuming it works in either of those ways.

I'll live.

Dart forward, target a wing that's slowed slightly as the angbomination swipes a trough in the floor and stab. Result? I severed the tip and-

Will it be enough to trigger the Sword's special effect, though?

"YYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE..!"

My constructs blink out and my armour's tron lines dim and die. Marvellous. Mother Box, can you still Awaken people?

You're hoping she's even still conscious, after all this?

Ping.

Good.

"Yes, though I don't fancy our chances here." Well, at least she's feeling a little better.

"Any of you cyborgs want to go to God?" That gets me a few strange looks. "No, seriously, reunification with the-"

The angels press forward, making probing slashes with wings and claws as I'm forced to give ground. Why couldn't Chantinelle have made a spear or something?

It makes sense, though. As a minor succubus, she wouldn't expect to see open combat like this. But keeping a dagger in a hidden spot while seducing someone? Much more the Succubus style.

"-Creator. Just takes a brief ritual."

Doesn't look like anyone's going for it, which is fair enough. Who was that guy in Pilgrim's Progress? False Hope?

Long shot. Probably wouldn't have worked as well as you'd be hoping it would anyway.

"Oh good. Now he does something useful."

Ah, darn. Simpson is there, move a little and the calculate and throw!

The upside, as strong as he is, this'll hit like a shotgun slug at the least.

The Sword flies through the air and punches through the angel-thing's torso section and out of the other side! Black… Sand? Pours out, though the creature itself doesn't seem-. No, one of the heads is having some sort of fit, but the other two have noticed that I've lost my weapon. In theory I could try to get it to run over the First but I don't fancy getting into melee range and I doubt that he'd have made all that noise if he was actually worried about them.

So... One angel down, I guess. Just two more hits needed! And if that sand stuff is powdered kaahuite, no wonder it was in pain.

"Huh?"

"Yes I actually did it!" Back up back up lift dodge! "Now give me the gun!"

Give him a second, it's not every day you see someone throw a knife through someone.

"Ah. Okay?"

The gun flies into the air and it's not going anywhere near me fly! Yes, yes-!

Dammit, stupid nerd and his bad athletic skills.

Something tears into my right foot.

No! AAow! Tether, grab it turn and stab it into the monstrosity's conjoined neck! A flare of gold fire, it.. gets sucked away…

Well, Not quite paying an arm and a leg, but he's probably going to be limping for a while.

But it doesn't vanish. The angel thing is in constant contact with it.

And its eyes are starting to clear.

Interesting. The pain giving it something to focus on, or the celestial energy resisting the kaahuite?

Well, at least the Renegade will know he's been in a real fight, with all these bumps he's taking. Still impressive that he overpenetrated the angel-monster so strongly. The problem is who's going to be getting their hands on the sword next? Especially since the First is still in this fight. If he manages to get it and give the Renegade a dose of his own medicine... Things could get messy.

Mr Zoat · Jan 20, 2024

Darko said:
"bother them"

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
To be fair, it's been mentioned several times that it's outside the Presence's Creation, but that doesn't necessarily mean it lies outside the Source's providence. Depends on how closely the two powers are related, of course.

I'm treating them as the same thing. I do not understand the concept of the Trinity at all.

So, not the Ace of Winchesters, but similar principles. Probably engineered based on stories of it.

No, it's the Ace. The SI discovered that it worked like that a while ago. The path of the bullet creates a conceptual like to the divine metal in the gun.

PDV · Jan 20, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Why couldn't Chantinelle have made a spear or something?

Because the Spear of Destiny already exists and doubling up on your legendary artifact form factors makes their myths interfere.

Mr Zoat said:
and takea purple healing ray out of sub[/color]… Space

Couple typos here

Mr Zoat said:
I do not understand the concept of the Trinity at all.

Don't worry, neither do the Catholics. It is known wisdom that no one can talk about the Trinity for five minutes without committing heresy. With the possible exceptions of Jesuits and the Pope, and I'm not sure about the Pope.

Mr Zoat · Jan 20, 2024

PDV said:
Couple typos here

Thank you, corrected.

Ryumancer · Jan 20, 2024

PDV said:
Because the Spear of Destiny already exists and doubling up on your legendary artifact form factors makes their myths interfere.

You say that, but legendary swords are a dime a dozen.

Lord Ernest · Jan 20, 2024

Ryumancer said:
You say that, but legendary swords are a dime a dozen.

Yeah, and in Fate it turns out that they are mostly all the same or just 2 or 3 swords that change hands or names throughout the ages. Or at least that's how I understood it the last time I bothered to read on it.

Ryumancer · Jan 20, 2024

Lord Ernest said:
Yeah, and in Fate it turns out that they are mostly all the same or just 2 or 3 swords that change hands or names throughout the ages. Or at least that's how I understood it the last time I bothered to read on it.

Ah yes, Fate, which is well known for for it's completely accurate representations of mythology and taking no amount of creative liberty whatsoever in regards to the contents of those myths.

scooterboo · Jan 21, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
down switches by 90o, then start looking around.

Did you want to put a ° here?

But someone already pointed it out and you said "corrected", so sorry if you reverted it later.

scooterboo · Jan 21, 2024

Woo! All caught up! A year's worth of chapters in a week! I'm happy the anti-life situation was taken care of on paragon's earth. That was starting to drag on for a little too long. Pretty ironic that renegade managed to casually pull off a seven color plan of his own with little to no effort.

I'm interested to see where this hell arc ends up. Before the first dragged renegade down there to attack him, I thought the plan was going to be that once renegade investigated hell, he would find that it was actually managed as efficiently as possible, and thus couldn't hold up his end of the bargain at the end of the month. That him boasting that he could make the whole thing more effective was short sighted because he had none of the nessisarry data to make that boast.

Mr Zoat · Jan 21, 2024

Day 22
28th March 2013
09:54 GMT

AH-! Still got its claws in my leg, and they're shaking like its trying to saw their way out!

"What?"

Construct clamp around its hand and pull-! Ahg-! Okay, free. At least the nails aren't barbed, I-. Suppose.

What I've learned: ring-empowered armour can block it, armour on its own can't and my New God flesh might as well be human meat for all the resistance it puts up.

"Huh." The First -who is now entirely naked and flapping as momentum dictates- walks a little closer, looking interested. "Alright, you get a stay of execution while I watch this."

"Thank you, oh First. I'm curious myself."

One of the cyborgs raises his gun and fires, the shot… Slowing and then stopping as it moves towards the First.

"I was created before matter. Did you really think these were hitting me because I couldn't stop them? Did you really think that putting that metal in yourself meant that I couldn't-"

The cyborg drops his gun, staring at his hands in shock as they leave his control.

"-do whatever I want with any soul in my domain? I didn't expect any better of Neron or the guards, but I at least thought that Rosacarnis was a little more intelligent than this."

The angel-thing… The kaahuite dust continues to pour out of its torso, its muscles are twitching… At this point I could probably grab the Sword off Simpson and put it out of its misery. Might just unmake them, or it might grant them incarnation as humans. But…

That fragment of the Source's power is interacting with the kaahuite. So it looks like not touching this place is a matter of choice and not capacity. Or rather, a default setting and not a rule, as the gun doesn't have morals or agency and so probably doesn't warrant direct personal intervention. So right now the Source is touching the kaahuite and pushing it out.

Ping.

It would have been convenient, but I wasn't expecting you to.

And of course the kaahuite… Or maybe the aura of this place not yet manifested as kaahuite, it's working on me. And… According to New God scripture, the supernatural abilities of the Elite like myself comes from the Source.

So in theory I can handle this link.

Marvellous.

I look down to see the First splitting his attention between the convulsing combo angel and the cyborg who shot at him, who he is currently forcing to pull his own right eyeball out by remote controlling his implants. He looks-. Sinestro?

…

Great, if I have to get him repaired again…

Orange ring.

Your command?

Keep an eye out for me.

Executing.

And I turn my attention inwards. I am Conquest and Direction, Domination and Betterment and that last one is not getting any resonance at all down here. Conquest… Uh, it's like Apokolips, battles without end or objective.

Wait.

That's good.

Direction? There's a little. Simpson said that Neron was up above us, and the First said that Rosacarnis was around. They're providing Direction now and here, but they're not providing Direction for their people. They are tyrants, not rulers, not leaders.

Gkh!

But Domination? Yes. The First reeks of it. A practical virtue shorn of the other things that would give it Meaning and Value. It connects him to every person and object here-.

"Are you up to something, Grayven?"

"Just wondering how blatantly breaking our pact was going for you."

"Bit of an itch. I'm not a demon, unlike my late and entirely unlamented 'brothers'. I'm not bound by the letter of my agreements."

"So there wasn't some clever clause that I missed?"

"No. But you're here now, so what did it get you?"

"And that thing with John's friend Brendan?"

He turns his head away from both the deflating angel and the blind cyborg. "You know what? I can torture an angel any time."

But he didn't get Brendan's soul. So the mechanism that let him take Brendan's soul must have required something. Then he.. could have just taken his soul whenever he felt like, but left it to the particular date he did for the sake of poetry. And then he was in too much pain from the holy water, so the spell mechanism just completed without his input and Brendan's soul was free. Check that theory later.

This is what I am, the part of the grand divine design that is Conquest. This is how I relate to everything around here. And the pushing away, the negation and the pain from rejecting the design is…

Yes.

Thesis and antithesis.

And forming a bridge between the two.

"Oh."

Oof! The ceiling jumps down and smashes me to the floor!

Threat detected.

Thanks.

The First strolls over to me. "It looked like you were having some sort of personal revelation there, but I don't really care. Say something nice to father for-."

1.1 Thou Shalt Not.

The combination angel is wreathed in golden fire, kaahuite implants wriggling out of its flesh and falling to the floor. One of its hands reaches up and pulls the gun out of the wound where I shoved it, the hole closing over after a brief plume of golden fire.

The First turns back to them, incensed and jabbing with his right forefinger.

"No FUCK you, this is MY place!"

The last of the kaahuite falls to the ground and its wounds seal themselves.

1.2 Yes, it is. But We are not.

Okay, I think I could sneak up on him with-.

With-.

I turn my head just in time to vomit up the black yuck that feels like it's coming from every part of my body.

"John seemed to think you were actually a threat to me, Gabriel. I think you're still a worthless cunt who turned his back on God to fuck a succubus. So give me a better fight than my brothers did and maybe-. Huuh."

He looks down to where the blades of the Sword of the Fallen are poking through his chest.

"Fucking… Again?"

He collapses, a smug-looking Simpson standing on legs taken from a cyborg standing behind him.

Chojin Patriarch · Jan 21, 2024

That Godspeech:

Executing.

And I turn my attention inwards. I am Conquest and Direction, Domination and Betterment and that last one is not getting any resonance at all down here. Conquest… Uh, it's like Apokolips, battles without end or objective.

Wait.

That's good.

Direction? There's a little. Simpson said that Neron was up above us, and the First said that Rosacarnis was around. They're providing Direction now and here, but they're not providing Direction for their people. They are tyrants, not rulers, not leaders.

Gkh!

But Domination? Yes. The First reeks of it. A practical virtue shorn of the other things that would give it Meaning and Value. It connects him to every person and object here-.

"Are you up to something, Grayven?"

But he didn't get Brendan's soul. So the mechanism that let him take Brendan's soul must have required something. The he.. could have just taken his soul whenever he felt like, but left it to the particular date he did for the sake of poetry. And then he was in too much pain from the holy water, so the spell mechanism just completed without his input and Brendan's soul was free. Check that theory later.

This is what I am, the part of the grand divine design that is Conquest. This is how I relate to everything around here. And the pushing away, the negation and the pain from rejecting the design is…

Yes.

Thesis and antithesis.

And forming a bridge between the two.

"Oh."

Ngamer11 · Jan 21, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I look down to see the First splitting his attention between the convulsing combo angel and the cyborg who shot at him, who he is currently forcing to pull his own right eyeball out by remote controlling his implants. He looks-. Sinestro?

…

Great, if I have to get him repaired again…

I hope Ringnestro can be repaired without too many issues. His comments add levity to the Renegade's misadventures.

Mr Zoat said:
But he didn't get Brendan's soul. So the mechanism that let him take Brendan's soul must have required something. The he.. could have just taken his soul whenever he felt like, but left it to the particular date he did for the sake of poetry. And then he was in too much pain from the holy water, so the spell mechanism just completed without his input and Brendan's soul was free. Check that theory later.

That should say 'Then'.

Mr Zoat said:
1.1 Thou Shalt Not.

The combination angel is wreathed in golden fire, kaahuite implants wriggling out of its flesh and falling to the floor. One of its hands reaches up and pulls the gun out of the wound where I shoved it, the hole closing over after a brief plume of golden fire.

The First turns back to them, incensed and jabbing with his right forefinger.

"No FUCK you, this is MY place!"

The last of the kaahuite falls to the ground and its wounds seal themselves.

1.2 Yes, it is. But We are not.

So Gabriel is back. I wonder what that could mean for John Constantine.

Mr Zoat said:
"John seemed to think you were actually a threat to me, Gabriel. I think you're still a worthless cunt who turned his back on God to fuck a succubus. So give me a better fight then my brothers did and maybe-. Huuh."

He looks down to where the blades of the Sword of the Fallen are poking through his chest.

"Fucking… Again?"

He collapses, a smug-looking Simpson standing on legs taken from a cyborg standing behind him.

I see the First still hasn't learned his lesson from last time. Hopefully Satanus can take care of him the way he did in the Paragon timeline. Also, that should say 'than'.

Chojin Patriarch said:
That Godspeech:

The second quote is missing some of the Godspeech.

With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Connoisseur.

Experienced.

That Others May Fap

Sky God

Veteran Lurker

At the End...

Connoisseur.

hey, little Anna, you're the one

Not too sore, are you?

Dedicated ragequitter

Versed in the lewd.

At the End...

Stand up so I can push you down!

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Recovering pendant.

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Connoisseur.

Veteran Lurker

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Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

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Dragons Are Romance

At the End...

Dragons Are Romance

Getting out there.

Getting out there.

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Experienced.

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